The People Who Paved the Way

Trailblazers

Pioneers, barrier-breakers, and history-makers who changed what's possible.

All A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Michael Jordan

Michael Jeffrey Jordan is the standard against which every athlete in every sport is measured. Six NBA championships. Six Finals MVP awards. Five regular season MVP awards. Ten scoring titles. A career that redefined excellence, competitiveness, and the commercial potential of athletic stardom. When people debate who is the greatest basketball player of all time, […]

Michaela Coel

Media & Entertainment

Michaela Ewuraba Boakye-Collinson — Michaela Coel — created, wrote, co-directed, and starred in I May Destroy You, a limited series about sexual assault and its aftermath that was hailed as one of the greatest television achievements of the twenty-first century. She turned down a $1 million deal from Netflix because the streamer wouldn’t give her […]

Michelle Obama

Politics & Law

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama served as the 44th First Lady of the United States and became one of the most admired women in the world. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, she graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law School, then built a career in law, city government, and hospital administration before her husband entered […]

Missy Elliott

Music

Missy Elliott rewrote the rules of hip-hop and R&B as a producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Growing up in Portsmouth, Virginia, she survived an abusive childhood and channeled her pain into art, forming a partnership with Timbaland that produced some of the most innovative sounds in music history. Her debut Supa Dupa Fly in 1997 […]

Misty Copeland

Arts & Culture

The first African American female principal dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland shattered a 75-year color barrier and redefined what a ballerina looks like.

Muhammad Ali

Sports

The greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali was more than a champion — he was a cultural revolutionary who used his platform to fight for justice, peace, and the dignity of Black people worldwide.

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